Turtle Girl
by Dawn Totadile
Summary: Taking place years after the 2003 series ended, the turtles are living underground without much commotion once more. Something is stirring though as a new player is introduced to the game; a child who was genetically cloned to destroy the turtles, but instead becomes one of them. Join her as she goes through life's trials as the daughter of Donatello. Rated for Abusive Hun.
1. Chapter 1

Running through the sewers with fear in her green eyes was a young five year old girl with a secret. She had been raised in a lab for her whole life, knowing that it wasn't right. Her mother had been a strand of DNA that had been collected many years ago. She had no real mother. The woman who's DNA was used had been dead years before she had been decanted. The process of Decanting had made her a test tube baby. Her father's DNA was the reason she was raised in a lab. Her father didn't know she existed, as his DNA had been taken from when he had been in a fight against her creators.

Her black hair flew behind her in a short ponytail and her legs ran with all their might to escape her pursuer. She had no training, only instincts. She knew that she had been having visions of something in the sewers, and that she needed to get to it. She had noticed her first break in her life to get away from her creators and their tests. A glitch in the system, just long enough for her, even with her slow reflexes, to get into the ventilation system. She climbed through and felt as though she heard a voice guiding her. The voice was kind, old, and definitely a male. It had guided her through her ordeals, and had told her when the vents were safe.

The voice had then guided her to the sewers once she had been able to escape. Manufactured for the Purple Dragons by Dr. Chester Lynch, the young lady was tested again and again on a multitude of different things, mainly in the mind and her genetic structure's stability. She risked a glanced back and wished she hadn't. Hun was chasing her. Because she had no training and had been raised in a lab for her whole life, Hun had decided that he didn't need backup to capture the young "Freak" as he called her.

She pushed herself to run faster, hoping to lose him in the tunnels. She was beaten and bruised from her earlier "Tests" still, but that didn't stop her. She wanted out and she wanted to be free. She tripped over an old pipe that had been floating around in the sewer, and crashed into the sewer wall. "OOF!" She was now unconscious on the sidewalk of the sewer.

"Hmph, you never should have left the lab, Freak. Now look at you." Suddenly there was swooshing sound that sounded very familiar to the behemoth. "What the?" Without a word, the behemoth was knocked unconscious by a shadow. "OOF!" Another shadow had walked over to the young girl and had started to check her over.

The second shadow gasped as he checked the girl over. The bruises on such a young child were startling enough, but on her back, hidden under her overlarge t-shirt, there was something even more startling to look at. The child had a shell, a small dark brown turtle shell! The second shadow looked to the first, his brown red eyes filled with shock, concern, and fear for the child. The first shadow just nodded back to the second, trying to reassure him that he'd understand later. The second nodded in response and picked up the small child. The two disappeared into the darkness, leaving Hun unconscious in the sewer sludge with multiple bruises.


	2. Chapter 2

"Gah!" A black haired Asian looking girl gasped as she awoke with a start. She looked around her surroundings, trying to get her bearings, but finding nothing familiar. She was in a lab, true, but it wasn't the Purple Dragons' lab. "Wha… where am I?"

"Somewhere safe… kid… somewhere safe…" Her bright green eyes glanced around until she found the creature that had spoken. Her eyes then widened in shock as she looked at a giant turtle that was checking out something on a scanner. He was five feet tall wore a white lab coat with a purple mask. Strapped to his back was a Bo staff that was wrapped with purple fabric as well. The turtle didn't look at her, which made her nervous. When a scientist was busy paying attention to a screen or something instead of her, that usually meant they wanted to test something about her, and this turtle was clearly some sort of scientist.

"Who… who are you? Why am I here?"

"You're here because with that shell on your back, you can't exactly be dropped off at a human hospital without suffering the consequences of being sent to a lab to be dissected." The turtle sighed as the results came out just as he had feared they would. He hit a few buttons on his computer, knowing that his brothers weren't smart enough to figure out how to use his equipment. He deleted something that only he and his master would know of, at least for now. "As for who I am, I am Donatello Splinterson. Might I ask who you are?"

The child blushed as the turtle looked at her with warm, intelligent, reddish brown eyes. She had never been asked who she was before. She was only asked things that had to do with her intelligence. "Um… Hun calls me 'Freak'… and Dr. Lynch called me 'Experiment: Turtle Girl', or sometimes just 'Turtle Girl'. He hasn't been around in a while though…" She started to reach a hand for her shell, wondering if it was cracked.

Donatello frowned at that and pursed his lips. "Those aren't names. They're labels." He then noticed her reaching her hand for the top of her shell. "Leave your shell alone, it still needs time to repair." The child froze in shock. He had predicted her actions! The other scientists were never able to do that. "You received a lot of damage. You've been asleep for almost two whole days."

"Where am I?" She looked up at him with a pained look in her eyes. She didn't want to live her life as a lab experiment.

Donatello slowly moved towards her as he grabbed a small bottle of water from his desk. "Here, drink this." She flinched away. "It's just water, I promise."

"Promise?" She had yet to hear that word before. It made her nervous.

Donatello grimaced. "Turtle's honor." He handed her the water bottle after he opened it. "This is my lab, I had to treat you. You were hurt pretty badly."

"Oh… um… thank you…" That seemed to be the appropriate response to the situation she was in, but it didn't help her fear of becoming an experiment again.

Donatello noticed her hesitation and patted her gently on the head. "Don't worry, you're safe. I'm going to let my father, Master Splinter, know you're up. He will be happy to know you're alright."

"Why would he be happy to know that?"

Donatello smiled kindly back to the young girl. She was more human than turtle in looks, but she definitely had turtle in her DNA, and it was strong too. "He asked me to mess with the security so that you could escape. I made that glitch in the systems so you could escape from the vents. Master Splinter was the one who told you how to get out."

"How? And how did he find out about me?"

"Master Splinter sensed you through meditation." Donatello smiled. "It took a while to contact you though because of the shielding around the building you were in."

"The magic defenses… they were down for maintenance and security was increased…"

"Heh, wasn't enough to keep you in there though. Get some rest… and drink that water. You look dehydrated."

The girl grimaced. She was usually allowed water only three times a week and food every Monday. "Thanks." Donatello nodded as he left his lab.


	3. Chapter 3

"How is she?" Leonardo asked as his brother came out of his lab. His father had explained everything he could about the child, except for the fact that the DNA of one of his sons had fathered the girl. Michelangelo and Raphael were also waiting for the news of the young turtle girl. They were curious.

"She's scared, hurt, and afraid, but she might be willing to trust us. They hurt her pretty badly in Purple Dragons' labs, even without Lynch sticking around after she was made. She doesn't know much about the world outside of his lab." Donatello looked down to his right, trying to process all the possibilities of what he could do to help her. "She needs time…"

Leonardo nodded slowly. The blue masked leader knew better than to argue with his genius baby brother. "What's her name?"

"They never gave her one. She's been in that lab for her whole life and they've been calling her… some really mean things by the sound of it, but none of them were actual names." Donatello sighed. "She also seems to be dehydrated and starved. I'm thinking about getting her some plain toast to see how she reacts. She was hesitant about the water bottle… probably never seen one like it before."

"Whoa." Michelangelo, the youngest of the brothers, jumped off of the couch in shock. "So you're saying she's never had any good food and probably never even heard of television?"

Donatello grimaced at his brother's simplicity. "Yes…" He awaited for his brother to freak out but was rewarded with Michelangelo fainting onto the couch. "Huh… he took that better than I expected."

The orange banded turtle was quick to recover though and immediately ran to the kitchen. "Yo, Mikey, what are you doing?" Raphael asked as Michelangelo started to dig through the pantry. He was grabbing snack foods that he usually saved for emergencies.

"If she was nervous about a water bottle, she's bound to know nothing about the important things like snack foods!" The other turtles groaned. Sometimes Michelangelo could be simple and silly, even for a thirty-year-old turtle. They had once been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but now they were Adult Mutant Ninja Turtles. That still didn't change their personalities though, especially Michelangelo's silliness.


	4. Chapter 4

When the child awoke once more, she was still shocked that she wasn't dreaming. The world she was in, or at least the area, was real! The giant turtle named Donatello, he was real as well! Him examining her arm where Dr. Lynch had last injected her with some testing chemicals proved this. He noticed her awake and gave a small smile to the child, trying to reassure her that she was safe. "How many shots have you had?"

"Dr. Lynch made sure to give me a shot of everything he thought I would possibly need, including shots for taking care of small children, even though I'm… not really a child. Then the other doctors took over after he left two years ago… I'm not sure anymore…"

"Oh? How old are you?"

"I'm five… but they say that because I'm a turtle girl that makes me not a child."

"Trust me, I've got a little brother who's thirty years old, and he still acts like a child." The little girl giggled at the comment before quickly slapping her free hand to her mouth. She looked scared. She had never made that sound before! "Don't worry. Laughing is healthy for growing kids. How are you feeling?"

The little girl thought about it but her stomach answered for her, letting out a small growl as it signaled that it must be Monday, or at least near it. "Is it Monday yet?"

"What's so special about Monday?"

"That's when I get to have my lettuce leaves and my food pellets. The doctors said that I would start eating radishes when I turned six next August."

Donatello let go of her arm as he took deep breaths to control his anger. "It's actually Sunday, and I don't think that food pellets are appropriate for a little girl to eat."

"Neither did Lynch, but Hun always gives them to me." Donatello frowned. Next time he encountered Hun, he was going to be sure to leave his mouth stuffed full of food pellets to see how he liked it.

"Huh… well let's get you to try some new foods. Mikey's already got a whole bunch of junk food ready for you to test, but I think you need some healthy food too. True, Lettuce is good for you, but you need more in your diet than just that." Donatello gave a small smile as he helped the little girl stand up.

"Who's Mikey?"

"My brother, Michelangelo. He's the youngest of us. I also have two older brothers, Raphael and Leonardo. Leo's the oldest of us and our leader."

"What's Raphael do?"

"He's the backup and the muscle." Donatello grinned. "Great for getting us out of a fight, but more likely to get us into it."

"Is he dangerous?"

"We all are in a way, but don't worry. He won't hurt you. None of us will." He gently guided the child out of his lab and into the main area of their underground home, hidden deep in the sewers at the edge of a lake. It was under an old substation that had once helped to power the city. She was a small child, standing at about three feet tall, maybe less, but she still had a sense of shyness that was very much like Donatello. She clutched his three fingered hand and hid behind him as they left the lab. Donatello gave a softened smile as she seemed to grow attached to him. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you." He looked up to his three brothers, who were all sitting around the dining room table, though the dining room and the kitchen were actually in the main room. "Hey guys."

Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo all turned their heads towards the two of them and smiled. The little girl squeaked a little and hid herself behind Donatello's shell as best as she could. Michelangelo, ever the comedian, decided to see if a joke would help her to be more comfortable with them. "What? Does our breath stink?"

The child looked up at Donatello confused. Donatello grimaced. "Mikey is trying to get you to laugh at a bad joke."

"What's a joke?"

Donatello grimaced as the other three turtle's eyes widened in shock. "Something verbally spoken to make someone laugh."

"Oh… It wasn't that funny." Her voice was small, quiet, much like Donatello's had been as a child.

Raphael smirked at this. It was always funny to find someone who didn't laugh at everything that Michelangelo said. "Heh, you're right, kid, it wasn't." He then proceeded to give Michelangelo a noogie.

"Hey, cut it out, Raph!" Michelangelo laughed.

The little girl chuckled too as she saw that they were playing.

"See, that's how you make a kid laugh! Ya do something that really is funny, Mikey."

The little girl started smiling as the two turtles tumbled out of their chairs and started tumbling around, both trying to make the other say "Uncle". Her green eyes were filled with a glimmer of what could be called "Childhood wonder". She had not seen anyone fight just for fun before. Donatello noticed this and smiled. 'It's going to take a while to undo the damage, but with any luck, she'll be just as fine as any other little girl.'


	5. Chapter 5

To say that the child was hungry would have been an understatement. She ate nearly an entire pizza once she had found a type she liked. She couldn't help but smile as she finished a whole Hawaiian pizza, which happened to also be Donatello's favorite type.

"You feeling better?" Donatello asked kindly. He didn't want to scare the child.

"Yes, thank you." She smiled softly to the large turtles. When she wasn't afraid, she seemed even more human. Her shell also seemed to blend in with her skin more.

Donatello bit his lip as he thought about something. "You still need a name…"

"I do?"

"Yes, you do… hey guys, any ideas on what to call her?" Donatello asked his brothers.

"How about 'Shelly'?" Michelangelo suggested.

Raphael shook his head. "No way, bro. How about Donna? She's sorta like Donnie." Donatello grimaced while the young turtle girl just chuckled.

"While I do agree that she's sorta like Don, don't you think she needs her own name?" Leonardo smirked. "Why not Artemis? It's an independent name."

"Artemis?" Donatello was curious as to why that had been chosen. It was the Greek Goddess of young girls. He then looked to the young girl and realized something embarrassing. They hadn't asked her what she wanted to be called. "What do you think?"

The little girl bit her lip and then thought about it hard. 'Who am I? They keep comparing me to Donatello… but I don't want to be Donna… it'd be too confusing… what about…' She looked up at Donatello with a smile. "What about Diana?" The name started with a D, and Diana was a roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, as well as the goddess of girls. She was also Artemis' Roman version.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Diana." The turtles and the young girl turned towards the creature that had just entered. He was a short rat with grey fur and grey eyes that were full of life. "I am Splinter. It is nice to meet you, Diana."

Diana looked up to the turtles and Donatello nodded kindly. Diana smiled. "Nice to meet you, sir." She smiled and held out her hand to shake. The rat shook her hand gently. "I should probably figure out what I'm going to do though, now that I'm out of the lab… I certainly don't want to go back…" Diana bit her lip as she sat back down in a chair.

Splinter looked at the four turtles who he had raised. He himself was getting on in years, now that his sons were all thirty. He sighed. He then looked to Donatello who had a spark in his eyes that Splinter recognized. It was the spark of caring for a child, a fatherly spark. "Why not stay with us, Diana? I am sure that we can find a suitable space for you to live." Diana was confused by the offer. These creatures had already done so much for her, what right did she have to trouble them anymore.

"It won't be any trouble, Diana. I promise." Diana looked up at Donatello who was smiling at her with a kindness in his eyes that she was having trouble understanding. He seemed to know just what she was thinking, and he was so gentle. Why?

Raphael even interjected with a smart remark; "Yeah, at least less trouble than Mikey here." He started giving him another noogie.

"But… I can't do anything to support you guys. I'd be useless… I don't know anything…"

Michelangelo smirked. "Donnie can teach you anything you need to know and we can help out too, Di. No sweat."

Diana looked around to find that all the turtles were in agreement with their sensei; Diana was to stay with them, safe, protected, and learning their ways. Diana couldn't help but smile as a few tears of happiness fell from her face. "Thank you."


	6. Chapter 6

Diana was now nervous as she got herself ready for her first day of school. Donatello had filled out papers for her to exist by hacking a few systems with his computer. Diana was now enrolled in the New York City Central Elementary School. She had been with the turtles for about two months and had quickly learned defensive positions and moves. She had also been working on a special weapon with her father's help. She now carried a pencil that never needed to be sharpened! This pencil could transform into a Bo staff that was as long as her body. She pulled her trench coat up over her shell and adjusted the overlarge shirt she liked to wear. Her main color scheme seemed to be violet or a light purple. She pulled on her favorite sweat pants that hid the tail she had started to grow.

Donatello had explained that while the majority of her features would still be human, she was still composed of more turtle genes than anything else. She found however, that if she concentrated hard enough, none of her turtle features, save for her shell, would show, and even the shell would seem to merge into her human structure. She placed her wire glasses over her nose so that they would hide the reptilian factor of them. She then grabbed her backpack and walked out of the room into the main living area of the lair, as the family called it.

"What do you think?" She grimaced. "Do I look normal enough?"

Donatello smiled. "Yes, you do. You'll be fine, Diana. School's going to be a good experience for you."

"I made you lunch, dudette." Michelangelo grinned as he handed Diana a brown bag. "It's a PB&J sandwich with a juice box."

"Thanks Uncle Mikey." Diana smiled. She had taken to calling Donatello her father, and the other turtles her uncles, not that they minded. They had taken to her pretty fast as well. She had even started calling Master Splinter her Grandfather in unformal occasions.

"Do ya want one of us ta drop ya off? I mean it is your first day of school." Raphael suggested.

"Naw, I don't want you guys getting in trouble cuz of me. I'll see ya after school." Diana waved as she started running towards the exit.

"Think she'll be okay, Don?" Leonardo asked as he saw the young girl run past him.

Donatello grimaced as he remembered that he hadn't shown the DNA test he had done on the child when they had found her. "She'll be fine… she's one of us after all."

"Maybe, but she's only half turtle, and we still don't know how the Purple Dragons made her."

Donatello sighed and brought up the DNA scan of Diana on his computer. "They did it with the DNA of a woman who was dead some years before Diana was created. They then combined it with my living DNA that they got from all our fights." Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo's jaws dropped open as they put together what he had just said.

"You're her father?" As if it wasn't obvious. Donatello rolled his eyes and shook his head, wondering how his brothers hadn't figured it out yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Diana made her way into the classroom and felt strange. She had never been to school before, or even near other children for that matter. She looked around and found a seat with her name on it. The teacher was already at his desk, reading a book. Diana smirked as she saw the name "Diana Splinterson." Splinterson was the last name that the turtles used. She paled though when she saw the two names next to her; Saki Chaplain and Jade Dragon. She didn't need to be her father to recognize the last names of her family's worst enemies. She shook her head and smiled. 'Every person is different, and each generation brings something new to the table. Let's make sure that they turn into model citizens.'

She was relieved when the two students showed up and were actually nice. Saki was a humble boy with a genius mind and some ninja skills already, while Jade was a tough girl with some slight bruising and a mind that wanted to learn. Diana quickly became friends with them, helping them with their work and playing with them at recess.

Saki was training to take his mother's place as the head of the foot clan and to do humanitarian work just like his mother and grandfather. Jade was supposed to train to take over her father's role as the head of the Purple Dragons, but she didn't want to. She was aware of how much damage her father did to the city and that he was hurting people, but she also knew that she wasn't strong enough to stop him just yet. Diana admired her courage but hated that her father and his temper constantly abused the young girl. It was a wonder that she was still standing.

As the months passed, Diana, Saki, and even Jade, had all become inseparable. Though Diana was afraid of meeting their parents and showing her family to them, while the three were at school, they did everything together. One day, Diana had an idea.

She knew the sewers as well as her father and uncles, if not better; and had found an area near the lair that they never went into. The only challenge with it was that to get to it, you had to climb a set of pipes that were standing over the lair. One wrong move, and the three kids would be caught by the turtles and rat, and then Diana might lose it all. She looked at Jade's new bruises as she came in that day and made the decision. She had to try to get her a safe place to stay at, at least for emergencies, and this 'Safe Place' in the sewers seemed perfect, especially since the pipes connected to her room as well.

When school was out, Diana talked the two into telling their parents that they'd be home a little late because they wanted to hang out with a friend. Saki's mother, Karai, was alright with it, so long as he kept his phone on him and stayed out of trouble. Jade had an easier time, much to their surprise. Hun had a business meeting apparently, so he was grateful for the excuse to have his daughter out of the house for a few extra hours. He just wanted her home by six for dinner.

Diana smiled and then called her own family with her shell-cell. She told her father that she was going to the park with her friends, and he was just happy that she was getting along with the people. Diana took the other two down into a manhole in the park. "Come on guys, you're gonna love it!" She led them through the tunnels, showing the marks she had on the walls to tell them where to go. The marks were all shells. "You guys can put your marks on later!" She smiled as they made their way through the sewer system. "Shhh." She signaled them to be quiet and explained that some creatures lived under the last leg of the trip. She just didn't explain that they were her family. "They won't bug us so long as we're quiet and we make it to the safe zone. I tested it. It's completely soundproof, and safe from anyone who would want to hurt us." The three managed to get across the large gap and the pipes without alerting the ninjas beneath them.

The three of them then reached a door that Diana pushed open. Inside of it were four different areas. The main area was like a mini living room with a table, some beanbags, and some bags that had different types of snacks in them. One of the adjoining rooms had a Jade Dragon on the door while the other had the Foot Symbol with a chemist bottle in the center of it. The third door had a turtle shell with a pencil strapped to its back painted on it.

"Wow… how long have you been working on this?" Jade asked as she looked into the room with the dragon on its door. It was a simple room with a bed in it, as was Saki's room.

Diana smiled. "You like? I've been working on it for a month now! We can come here whenever we need help or a place to stay, or just to hang out after school."

"Really? This is so cool!" Saki exclaimed. "I could get a work table in here and work on some inventions in my spare time!"

"And I could get some paints and a desk and paint pictures and hang them up." Jade jumped up and down like the child she was. The two then stopped after their excitement. "Hey, Diana… what's yours look like?"

Diana grinned deviously and ran over to the room with the symbol that would soon be recognized as her own. "What do you think?" Her room was a simple one with a simple bed, a punching bag, a desk covered with plans and designs for inventions, and a sketch book sitting on the bed next to a patched up turtle pillowpet that for some reason known only to Diana, had a purple mask on it.

"It's you." The two grinned and they all came in for a group hug. This was their sanctuary now, and no one was going to hurt them there.


	8. Chapter 8

Five years later…

"Diana." The young black haired girl looked up with her reptilian eyes hidden behind her glasses. Donatello had found a way for her to hide her shell from humans by the fact that she always wore her favorite trench coat, even during P.E. "The principal would like to speak to you." Diana was confused, but followed her teacher's orders to go to the office. Saki and Jade looked to each other with confusion. Diana was rarely called up to the office. She was the good kid out of them.

She grabbed all her things and made her way to the office. She felt cold as soon as she made her way into the hall. Someone was watching her. She tightened her grip on her coat and slid one of her hands into her pocket for her weapon of choice; an extendable Bo staff that transformed into a pencil. She put the pencil up in her hair behind her ear, as was a normal habit for her. Thankfully, this pencil never needed to be sharpened.

Diana made her way as quickly as she could to the office, fearing that something was up. She was shocked to find a large number of men in black suits were standing around the door. "Um… hi…" She felt like she wanted to shrink into her shell, though she knew that was an impossibility for her. Her shell wasn't like her family's shells. "Um… the principal wanted to see me… is that a problem?"

The principal's office opened to reveal a man in a white suit with a black cross on it. He wore shades, a headset, black pants and shoes, and had a scar above his right eye. Diana flinched as she felt his eyes from behind his shades seem to stare right into her DNA. 'He knows!' As impossible as the thought was, that was what was being screamed into her head by her old fears from when she started school.

"Ah, you must be Diana Splinterson. Nice to meet you." The man held out a hand for the girl to shake. "I am President Bishop."

Diana paled as she shook his hand. She had been following up on the news and had heard how this man was now the president of the world. He was also in charge of the Earth Protection Force. The thing that made her worry the most though was that he was responsible for Stockman getting her father's DNA which had been used in her design, and ergo, Dr. Lynch's creation of her. "Um… you too… sir…" She started shivering uncontrollably. She didn't want to go back to Lynch's lab, or to the Purple Dragons.

"Why don't you come inside. We're just waiting for your family to show up. I have something I wish to discuss with them."

Diana's eyes widened with fear behind her special glasses. The glasses were not meant to improve her sight, but rather to hide her reptilian eyes. "Wh… what… why?" She didn't want her father, uncles, and grandfather to suffer because she had been created.

"Relax, I promise that we shall simply talk about an integration program that I think they will like." Bishop smiled as he led the girl into the office. Her principle was looking at her as though he was scared of her. She cringed. She didn't want people to be afraid of her. Bishop noticed this and sighed. "She's been one of your students for years. You've only had good things to say about her. Don't you think that you are overreacting? She is only a child after all."

The principal thought about it for a second as he looked at Diana. He knew something that he didn't before about the young girl and it scared him. He recognized the look on her face. It was the same one she had worn for the past five years of being in his school. It was scared of everything, but willing to learn anything. She wasn't a monster, she was a student. She was the student who always stopped by the office at the end of the day to wish everyone by name a good day. She was the student who would help teachers when they found themselves stumbling on their words. She was the little girl who always knew what to get the staff for Christmas before the break started. This was Diana Splinterson, a student who liked to draw pictures of turtles and knew a lot of random and useful facts. The principal started to calm himself down as he reminded himself of who this student was, even if he had just learned something about her that should have made her a monster.

"Right, I'm sorry, Diana. I was just startled is all."

Diana sat down in her usual chair in the corner of the room. "What about me could have startled you, Mr. Woodstock?" Diana muttered as she awaited her fate. 'Please may this be legit… please may my family be safe…'


	9. Chapter 9

Donatello was concerned as his entire family reached the surface. Even Master Splinter was in a costume, which was a rarity in itself as the rat rarely went to the surface. They had been called up to talk to the Principal about Diana, a rarity for sure, especially since it was recommended that the whole family come. They made their way to the New York Central Public School slowly, making sure to be seen by barely anyone. They entered the school and made their way to the principal's office. Donatello felt his heart clench as he saw Diana playing chess with a man that the turtles were sure was trouble. "Diana? What are you doing?"

"Trying to remember that stupid five move win for chess. Bishop keeps beating me, and I don't care if he is the president, I'm trying to at least have something on the guy!" Diana scrunched up her face as she tried to position her pieces properly.

"President Bishop?" The mutants in trench coats looked at the man in white with shock.

"Yes, and I want you all to be part of my 'Alien and Mutant' integration program." Bishop moved a piece as he looked at the turtles. "Diana here is quite formidable, for a ten year old girl."

"Thanks, but you've still beaten me seven to one." She glanced over to her family, which were standing in trench coats. "I think he let me win that one though."

"Please, have a seat, gentlemen, and we'll get on with our discussion." Leonardo looked to his father, Master Splinter for an answer to his unspoken question. Splinter just took a seat next to Diana with Donatello on the other side of her. "Diana here may not be one for fighting with her physical abilities, but it would be a bad move for anyone to go up against her in a debate." Bishop adjusted his glasses as the turtle girl took off her own to look at the board in front of her. "I might just be in trouble if she decides to run for president."

"How so?" Donatello asked as he tugged his coat tighter onto him.

Bishop looked up and gave a small smirk. "I tried to introduce an idea to your daughter, Donatello, and she threw it right back at me with a counter offer."

"Diana?" Splinter glanced at his granddaughter. He was curious as to what she had done.

Without looking up from the game, Diana responded to the unasked question. "He offered us the chance to be the first family to be a part of the alien/mutant integration program. That means that I stay in school while being allowed to take off my coat, and you guys can be allowed on surface without any trouble. That means you can actually walk around like you belong and if they attack you, then police step in before you can draw your weapons."

"She countered it with an offer for you all to keep your weapons and still stay in your sewer home, if you want to, so long as you don't actually harm anyone with your weapons, save for your usual fights for defending the city."

The four turtles and rat looked at the child as she moved her queen to a square. "Check mate, Mr. President."

"Indeed." Bishop smiled. 'In more ways than one…'

Raphael looked at Bishop for an explanation. "What the shell does that mean?"

"It means that you will no longer be hunted for experiments. You can be considered among society with slightly less fear of being attacked. There will of course still be some extremists and some people with issues against mutants and aliens, but if I recall, Diana has interacted with the majority of the city, what with her charity work at the local kitchen and you all helping all over the city. I think that will help with public relations."

Splinter and Leonardo thought about it long and hard as Diana and Bishop set up another match of chess. Splinter was the first to speak. "A tempting offer to be sure, Mr. President, but if we refuse?"

"Then you continue your existence as you have. I will not interfere."

"Hmm… how long do we have to think about this?"

"I will be expecting a response in twenty-four hours. I'm sure you can figure out how to contact me." Bishop smiled as he stood up. "Oh, and before I forget, this is for you and your friend, Leatherhead, Donatello." He handed the turtle a package. "It's not much of an apology, but it will help you both to get jobs later, if you wish."

"Um… what exactly are you five… under all those clothes?" The principal was slightly nervous about what he had learned still, and though he knew that Diana was a good girl, he was slightly worried about her family.

The turtles looked to Splinter who then looked at Diana. Diana took off her coat to reveal her shell. As she had grown, so had some plastron, much like her father and uncles. Her plastron ended up like a shield around her body, covering her front, and making it slightly harder for her to find outfits, not that it wasn't already hard enough with her shell. She wore a blue t-shirt over her shell and plastron. Splinter nodded and removed his own coat, as did his sons. The turtles awaited a reaction from the humans around them as they stood near their father and Diana with their weapons and shells revealed. Master Splinter still had his kimono on while his sons still had their knee pads, elbow pads, belts, and masks. Diana was the only person who looked normal, as her human DNA allowed her more clothing options, along with the fact that she was a girl. "Nothing much, just four turtles, a rat… and a… turtle girl…" Diana winced as she used her original title. She still had nightmares about waking up in a laboratory that didn't belong to Donatello. She was recovering, but it was still a long time before finally being healed, if she ever could be.


	10. Chapter 10

Diana was sitting on her favorite pipe in the turtle's sewer home. It was just above her father's workshop in his room, but connected to her own room on the second level of the lair. Though she was a child still, she felt like she needed to be just as responsible as her father and their family. She sighed as she felt her heart weaken. If something happened to her family because of her, she would never forgive herself. Diana sighed as her family all went around to meet up and discuss the situation. They were in the main room and had told her to stay in her room. Diana made her way into the main room with her ninjitsu skills. Diana crawled into her secret spot among the pipes carefully. She was lying on her plastron as she overlooked the conversation between her father, her uncles, her grandfather, and their friends; Casey and April Jones, and Leatherhead.

Master Splinter had just explained the situation and Donatello had just revealed what exactly was in the package that Bishop had given them. It was two sets of Doctorates Degrees; one for Donatello, and one for Leatherhead, naming them doctors of science and chemistry.

Donatello looked at the others. His brothers and father had been with him to see the future, one where Cody Jones existed and they could walk free in broad daylight. It was a tempting offer… and apparently Diana had covered all the legal points somehow so that they were in the better position.

Master Splinter looked to his sons after hearing their arguments and answers. "I believe it would be in our favor to agree with Bishop. I have been watching the news. This will not come in complete shock to the humans."

April nodded in agreement. "He's been talking about this for a while; making peace with other races. In fact, that's how he got elected. Everyone was in favor of meeting other races and working with them, especially after the whole Triceraton invasion incident. No one wanted a repeat of that."

"So it would be a benefit to all of us if we simply agreed to being exposed…?" Leonardo scratched his head in confusion. This was certainly strange for them.

"It would seem so, my son."

"Remember what we learned in 2105? Bishop turned nice." Donatello supplied.

"Right." Michelangelo nodded. "This must be the start of it."

Diana was confused. Her family had yet to tell her all about what they had gone through yet. She bit her lip as she looked around. She was currently only wearing a set of sweat pants, as her shirts were uncomfortable for her plastron and shell now. She did however design herself a mask that was a lighter purple than that of her father's. Her favorite weapon was tucked into her ear like usual. She wanted to know what was going on, but didn't want to lose her family because of her existence.

"What do you think, Diana?" Diana froze. She glanced down to the purple masked turtle with a Bo staff strapped to his back. He was looking up at her with that smile that told her that she was caught. He used one of his three fingers to signal her to come down. Diana grimaced. She jumped down, landing after a flip, much like her uncle, Leonardo, would. She had yet to reveal her own ninja costume to her family, as she had wanted it to be a surprise.

When practicing ninjitsu, Diana usually just wore a black t-shirt, headband, and sweats. Her current outfit though was more closer to her father's colored outfit. "I… I think it would be nice to actually be able to go to the park with you guys without having to worry about losing my coat or you guys getting attacked by Purple Dragons while I'm at the store getting supplies." She grimaced. "I'd like to actually have my friends at school meet you guys."

"Whoa, where'd you get that outfit, kid?" Casey asked as Diana started biting her lip and shuffling her feet.

"I… made it…"

"Cool." Leave it to Casey to change the subject.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day at school, after Donatello had delivered the message to Bishop, Diana walked to school with her trench coat on as usual, on her own, as usual. What wasn't usual was that she had taken off her glasses and left them at home, not that she really needed them anyway. She took a deep breath and smiled as she entered the school. She treated it like she usually did, greeting the teachers and staff, saying hi to some of the classmates while dodging the school's bullies. She made her way to her classroom and was happy to find her two best friends were already in the room waiting for her, just like usual.

"Jade, Saki, wazzup?" She smiled like nothing was going to change, and deep in her heart, she wished it was true. Her best friends were the children of her family's worst enemies. Jade Dragon was the daughter of Hun Dragon, the leader of the Purple Dragons. Saki Chaplain was the son of Karai and her husband, Dr. Thomas Chaplain.

"Did ya hear? President Bishop says that mutants and aliens can live among us… if they're friendly." Saki sounded excited for some reason.

"Really? Sweet. So, it's official?" Diana smirked.

"Yeah, that means that I might actually meet my mom's friends."

"Your mom's friends?" Diana chuckled as she sat down in her desk.

"Well… not really friends, but still… she called them the turtles. She says that they saved her life a few times, but she doesn't like them for what they did to grandpa… frankly, I just think it'd be cool to meet them. I hear the leader is an amazing warrior." Diana grimaced as Saki went on about all that his mother had told him about the turtles. Though they had their rough patches, Diana's family had assured her that Karai was an honorable woman. She knew that Saki was an honorable person as well.

"Dad's not too happy about it." Jade frowned suddenly. The other two looked at her for an explanation. "My dad's the leader of the Purple Dragons, remember?" The two nodded solemnly. "He doesn't like mutants. He says all sorts of things about them… I don't know what's true about them and what's not. I mean, can they really act like normal people and get along with them? Or are they really out to kill us all."

Diana took a deep breath and sighed. "Though some mutants are dangerous, they aren't all out to kill people. Only a few are…"

"How do you know?" Jade asked as they took their seats.

"You really want to meet a mutant?" The two children nodded in excitement. Diana sighed as she took off her coat. Today she was wearing her ninja outfit that she had shown to her family last night with an attachable shirt top that she could tuck into her shell. It was also light purple. She pulled her bangs out of the way and allowed her turtle eyes to show. She then placed the coat on the back of her chair. "Hi, I'm Diana Splinterson, a turtle girl, nice to meet you." She chuckled lightly at her best friend's reactions before frowning as she looked down at her hands. 'They hate me now… I'm a monster…'

Jade was the first to react. "You… you…"

"I'm 'A freak', as your dad so colorfully put it, Jade, I know."

"No, you're awesome!"

Jade and Saki ran over to her to look at her shell. "Such a cool design! You look like the Turtle Titan!" Saki was unaware of her relation to the super hero in a half shell.

"What?" Diana looked at her best friends with shock. She hadn't expected them to be alright with the fact that she had been lying to them for years. "You aren't mad?"

"Hey, what would we be mad about?" Saki laughed as he brought out a scanner. "I finally have an answer as to what was up with this also."

'SHELL!' Diana paled. "A DNA scanner?"

"Yep, my dad's a genius, and mom says that I'm just like him but with her ninja skills." Saki smiled. "I was curious as to why every time I used it on you, you showed up as both turtle and human…"

Diana winced as they took their seats next to her. "Jade… do you know where I came from?"

"No, should I?"

"Let's just say that I still have to stay away from your dad… he hates my family's guts… and he really hates me I think…"

"Why would you say that? Have you met him?"

Diana looked at her best friend with her green eyes. "You could say that… he calls me freak, but my proper title was 'Experiment: Turtle Girl'." The school bell rang and the three turned quiet as the rest of the class shuffled in. Some noticed Diana's shell right away, other's took longer to notice it. Diana had a feeling that the day was going to be longer than her Uncle Michelangelo's comic book collection.

"Diana…" The turtle girl turned towards Jade with concern in her turtle eyes, just like usual. Jade smiled kindly back at her best friend. "Whatever my dad says, you're no freak. You've been my best friend since kindergarten. That shell on your back, and my dad… they change nothing."

"That goes double for me, Diana." Saki whispered as the teacher started talking about the new pro-mutant/aliens laws.

"You guys are the best." Diana smiled, feeling relief that her best friends were still on her side.


	12. Chapter 12

The end of the school day had finally come, much to Diana's relief. Her classmates had barely bothered her over her shell, and the main pain had come from the usual school bullies. "Well… today was normal."

"Hehe, yeah, your shell was the only new thing and barely any cared, hehe." Saki laughed as he packed away all his gear.

"I'll say. I think it's cool anyway. It'll give you an advantage against trouble."

"Not really, Jade. I haven't used it to that advantage. Heh, I don't even know how strong it is really." Diana smiled as she finished packing her bag. She suddenly froze as she saw who was at the door to pick up his daughter. "Oh, Shell!" Diana ducked under her desk with her trench coat.

"Huh?" Jade and Saki were confused until they saw Jade's father; Hun. Jade paled as well in realization. "Oh… hi, dad."

"Hello, Jade. Come on, it's time to go home."

"I was hoping to hang out with my friends today."

"Oh? You know, you never introduced me to these friends of yours. Is this one of them?" He pointed to Saki.

"Yes, this is my best friend, Saki Chaplain… well… one of my best friends."

Saki signaled something to Jade who grimaced, sighed, and then nodded in recognition of something. "What's he saying, Jade?" Hun had a tendency to lose his temper with his daughter easily, and she tried to hide her bruising under her clothes. Saki and Diana had found out about their friend's abused home life when she had passed out in their secret safe place. Diana and Saki had combined all their healing knowledge from their parents to help the child.

"He's… he's asking about if you're where I get all my strength from…" She lied as best as she could. Thankfully, her father bought it. Saki had actually asked if Hun had been the one beating her up. "I'm the strongest girl in my class, along with my other friend…"

"Huh, kid a mute?"

"He's a man of action, that's for sure… but no… he's not really mute… he just doesn't talk a lot." Jade started to slowly walk towards her father, fearing what would happen if he found out about Diana.

Diana on the other hand, had another idea. She rose up with her pencil in hand and her coat covering her shell. "Found my lucky pencil, guys. Now we can go study for that test." Diana smiled as she shouldered her bag. "Oh, sorry, who's this?" She pretended to take out her earbuds that she had on, but were turned off. Her black hair was now in a ponytail and she had on her emergency glasses to hide her turtle eyes. She usually kept a pair in her desk.

"I'm Jade's father, Hun Dragon. Who are you?"

Diana gritted her teeth. She clutched her pencil like a staff. "No one special, just Diana… I guess some would call me the Kame girl though."

"Kame?"

"Japanese for turtle." Saki put in as he noticed another figure coming through the door. He bowed in respect of his mother as she arrived. "Hello, mother."

"Hello, Saki. I trust you are ready to leave?" Karai Chaplain was one of the richest and most powerful women in New York. She was the head of the Foot Clan and a famous Humanitarian. Unlike her father, Oroku Saki, she was human, and genuinely wanted to help mankind. "Hun, what are you doing here?"

"I came to pick up my daughter, Jade Dragon. I take it the young man is your son?"

"Of course." Karai was in her business suit that she used for her legal operations. She was trying to get rid of all illegal business that her father had started up.

Diana took a deep breath and gauged the relationships between the two sets of parents and children. She smiled as she sensed that Karai and Saki were as close as two could be despite the formalities that they displayed in public. She then frowned as she sensed the relationship between Jade and Hun. Hun cared for the girl, but only just. In his opinion, she was an embarrassment. 'Master Splinter's lessons on checking people's relationships sure helped a lot… I have to get Jade away from Hun… but how?'

Diana took another fake smile as she adjusted her coat over her shell. "I'm Diana, a friend of both Jade and Saki." She bowed to show respect to Karai. Leonardo had said many great things about her, as did her other family members. "It is an honor to meet you, Madam."

Karai nodded her appreciation. "The honor is mine, Diana. Saki has told me much about you."

Diana grimaced as she looked to the young boy. "I hope its good things, hehe."

"Like I'd say something bad about my best friends."

"Um… mind if I come in?" Diana's eyes widened in fear as she recognized her father in his disguise. Donatello was wearing a hat and trench coat like he usually did when he went out.

The other two adults turned towards him while Diana pulled Jade back behind her. Jade was confused. "What's going on?" She whispered as Diana signaled Saki away from the adults.

"My dad's here."

"I thought you said he was a good guy."

"He is." Diana kept whispering in urgency. "It's the fact that our families don't tend to get along all the time that I'm worried about; especially with your dad. He must have been worried about someone attacking me at school…"

"Who are you?" Hun growled. His temper had gotten worse since he had gained a daughter.

"I'm Diana's father, Donatello Splinterson." He said as calmly as he could. His Bo staff was being used like a walking stick.

"What's with the staff? Got a problem walking old man?" Hun snarled. 'Donatello… that has to be a coincidence…'

Donatello grimaced while Jade shrunk away. She sensed one of his moods coming on. She grabbed Diana's hand and clutched it to warn her. Diana squeezed back to tell her she got the message. Karai noticed this and that her son was standing protectively near the two girls. Though in training he was obviously not going his best with their methods of incentive, it seemed that he was willing to do his best to protect his friends. Karai gave a small smirk of approval. 'Such a good boy.'

"The staff's for helping me around. Diana, are these your friends you're always talking about?" Donatello smiled from under his hat. Saki's eyes widened as he noticed that Diana's father only had three fingers. Jade was more startled by the green skin on his hand. Karai had noticed these as well, and had recognized the voice, though it had been a few years since she had heard from this particular turtle. Luckily, Hun wasn't as perceptive.

"Yeah, this is Jade, and this is Saki. Guys, this is my dad." Diana smiled, trying to make everything seem normal.

"Um… hi…" Jade grimaced.

"Nice to meet you." Saki smiled in hopes of trying to ease the tension in the room.

"Look, enough formalities, Jade, let's go. There are freaks running loose in the streets, it's not safe anymore."

"What? Dad, come on. You're over exaggerating." Jade then flinched as her father came closer.

Karai and Donatello saw this and became worried. "No I'm not, now come on." He grabbed her by her wrist and started pulling.

"Ow, stop that!"

Donatello didn't know what to do in this situation, but Karai did. "Donatello, keep them here. His daughter needs to see a doctor, and I need to call the police about something."

"Um… okay?"

"Leave her alone." Hun looked at Diana, who had taken off her glasses and was glaring at him. His eyes widened as he recognized the green turtle eyes on her face. "You're hurting her."

"You… you're that freak, aren't you? That turtle girl!" Donatello bit his lip while Saki and Jade started to look worried.

Diana rolled her eyes. "Name's Diana, and I recommend you calm down, mister."

Hun let go of Jade and had started approaching Diana threateningly. "Don't tell me what to do, freak, I made you! I can unmake you." Jade's eyes widened in fear at this as realization of what Diana had meant earlier came into focus.

Diana got into a defensive stance. "Don't bet on it." She dodged his attacks as he started hitting. "Jade, Saki, scram; I'll meet you at the safe place."

"But!" Jade was about to interrupt when Donatello touched her shoulder. She looked up at him and he shook his head. "We can't leave her on her own against my dad! He'll kill her!"

"Damn it, Saki, get Jade out of here! Donatello, check on what the shell is taking Karai so long!" Diana did a back flip as she dodged another punch from Hun. Saki nodded and started dragging Jade away to their secret safe place as fast as they could run. They knew that Diana was no push over and that she was a brilliant escape artist. She was capable of leaving, but she would only escape if she was sure that the others were safe. Donatello felt confused. Diana knew that he could take on Hun if he needed to, but here she was sending him off to look for Karai. Worse than that, she had called him by his name. She rarely did that since accepting him as her father. She usually only used it when she was trying to get him to focus on something.

Saki was dragging Jade through the hallway as fast as he could. She was only slightly resisting, and Saki knew it was because she had been beaten recently and was too weak to do much. "Come on, Jade, we have to hurry."

"But what about Diana?"

"She'll be fine! It's Diana, remember? That girl can move faster than anyone I know, and she's part turtle!"

"Saki, if what she said is true, my dad made her in a lab! That means that he probably knows her weaknesses!"

"Not likely."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Diana's already eliminated her real weaknesses. She's been with us for five years, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, her weaknesses changed. **_We're_** her weaknesses; her family and friends. Ten to one, Diana's already made sure that her dad cleared out on some useless task so that she wouldn't worry about him." He dragged her out of the school where they ran into his mother and the police. "MOM!"

"Saki, what is going on here?"

"Diana's fending off Hun while her dad is looking for you or something. She'll have sent him off for something useless so as to not have any weaknesses Hun can exploit."

"And where are you two going?" Karai was confused as to why he would help one girl but not the other.

"To a safe place, Diana's orders. We're weaknesses for her too, so she sent us away so that we wouldn't distract each other. If Jade wasn't hurt so badly, we'd be able to stay, but…" He looked to Jade who finally felt her bruises from her father taking their toll on her. She felt her fear of losing her friends to her father's anger overwhelm her as she collapsed. "Jade!" Saki caught her and police rushed to help, "Stay back!" Saki glared, tears in his eyes, as he felt useless.

"Diana and Donatello must still be fighting Hun. Arrest him while I help the girl." Karai ordered. The police officers nodded, having already been briefed on the family of mutants that were trying to stay in the city among them. After the police were gone, Karai noticed that her son was gone as well. "He must have gone to his safe place that he is always talking about."


	13. Chapter 13

Diana flipped back like she had learned from her uncles. Her heart was beating faster than she had ever thought possible. She was surprised at all the emotions running through her head, but what surprised her the most was that fear was not among her immediate emotions, at least not fear for herself, but rather for her friends. 'Saki, you better have gotten Jade to the safe place!' She had yet to take out her weapon. She didn't need her father to know what she had made as her primary weapon. Donatello had disobeyed her orders. It was what she expected, but she was slightly upset anyway. He was in danger because of her. Donatello was keeping Hun distracted while Diana pelted the giant with erasers and school supplies from the classroom. Suddenly, Hun managed to knock out Donatello with a fell sweep of his huge fist. Diana growled. Though she was Donatello's daughter, she found herself with some traits from each of the turtles, and their master. Her rage was from Raphael, but her control of it was definitely Donatello's.

Hun picked up the unconscious turtle and was about to pound him to death in front of Diana when they heard the police. "Come out with your hands up, Hun Dragon! You are under arrest for attacking children in school, attempted murder, and child abuse." Hun laughed and was about to make it so that there was one less turtle to deal with in the world when Diana tackled Donatello out of his hands and landed in a tumble with her father right in front of her, injured, but alive.

"Why you little freak!" Diana glared, but kept her temper under control as she pushed her father out the door. Though the police knew about the turtle and his daughter, they were still shocked to find them real. Diana was bleeding in a few places, and Donatello was just knocked unconscious for the most part, but his bruises did not help Hun look innocent. "Why don't you shoot those freaks?" He yelled at the police as he jumped out the classroom window.

Diana glared at them. "Go after him."

"But you both…" One of the officers tried to interject as he had noticed their injuries.

Diana shook her head. "Hun is more dangerous. I'll get the first aid kit and help my father. You need to get Hun off the streets before he hurts someone else." Though they were not used to taking orders from a child, especially a girl with a shell, the police followed the orders, especially when she walked over to the place where the First Aid kit was. She promptly went to work assessing Donatello's damage and started to take care of him. She didn't even pause or look up from her work. "You still standing here? Move it before I'm done, or I'll get go after him myself." The police ran as fast as they could away from the child.

Karai showed up with a slightly confused face that also had concern. "Why did Hun have such a grudge against you?"

Diana kept working on her father's injuries with her medical knowledge. For a ten year old, she seemed to know quite a bit. "He had me created in the Purple Dragons' lab. Five years ago, Donatello and Master Splinter found out about me. Splinter guided me with his meditation, and Donatello messed with the security. I got out and made my way to them in the sewer. It turns out that I was made from Donatello's DNA and some lady who had died years ago." She said this with as little emotion as possible. "Did Saki and Jade get away?"

"Yes. Where did they go?"

"I told Saki to bring Jade to the Safe Place. I made it specifically for this situation. Jade has had bruises all over her since I met her. I know first-hand how violent Hun can be. Jade didn't deserve that." Donatello started moaning as he regained consciousness. Karai and Diana helped him up while Diana had his stick in her hand. "Now you really do need this to be a walking stick… least till we get back home. Then I have to go and get Saki and Jade from the safe place."

Donatello let out a small chuckle. "Right…" He then looked at his daughter. "You okay?"

"Of course I am, I just kept dodging him while you decided to stay and hit him with a pole." Diana grimaced.

"Funny, I thought you were throwing erasers like shuriken."

"Eh, I'll clean the whiteboards tomorrow or something to make up for it. Let's get going. Sooner I get you home, sooner I get to check up on Jade and Saki."


	14. Chapter 14

Saki placed a damp cloth over Jade's head, wishing desperately for Diana to come and help him. True, he knew some First Aid, but Diana was always better. He had bandaged up some of her cuts and had placed some ice packs on her bruises. He bit his lip as he heard a swishing sound of the doors. He glared at them and got into a defensive stance, even though it was hardly likely that anyone but Diana would find the place.

"You guys okay?" Saki sighed in relief. It was just Diana.

"I'm fine, but Jade's still pretty bad. I don't think she'd have made it through another beating. I don't know what to do now…"

Diana took a look over his handy work. "You did everything possible. You did good." She gave a small smile to her genius friend. "Come on, your mom's worried about you."

"But what about Jade?"

"I'll try and keep her here for a while. You and I both know that Hun could kidnap her if we placed her in a normal hospital. She's in danger from her own family, Saki. Remember what we promised each other when we first made this area ours?"

"Yeah… we promised to act like the three musketeers and defend each other as best we could, and to be friends forever…" He looked at Jade. "I feel like we failed that though."

"Why do you think I made the promise, 'best we could'? I knew we couldn't interfere with her home life, but we did what we could and we're doing what we can. Even though our families outside of our safe place are different, you have to remember that we're also a family." She smirked and gave him a small punch to the shoulder. "Got it?"

"Heh, yeah… um, so where should I go to meet my mom, or should I just head on home?"

Diana took a look outside the door of their safe place and grimaced as she looked down at her father, uncles, and grandfather all entertaining Ms. Karai. "Looks like she's visiting my family… I'm just glad they haven't killed each other yet…"

"Huh?" Saki looked down the pipes that they usually walked across in silence so as not to be detected. He paled as he adjusted his glasses over his brown eyes. "Um… what is it you always say… 'Shell?'"

"Yeah, I got it from my uncle Raph. He's the guy with the red mask. Dad's the one in purple, Uncle Mikey's orange, Uncle Leo's in blue, and grandpa is the rat. His name is Splinter, but we call him either Master Splinter or Sensei, got it?"

Saki swallowed hard. "Got it."

"Want to meet them?"

"Um… will I be in trouble?"

"No, I will."

"Why?"

"I took you guys over the lair without letting anyone know for years. It's actually really funny when you think about it. I mean, they're five ninja masters and I'm just a newbie in ninjitsu, hehe." Diana smirked. "I don't think they ever noticed us, hehehe."

"Right… shall we?"

"Lets." Diana did a double flip, landed on a lower pipe, jumped towards the second floor of the lair, and finished with a backflip in front of the entrance.

"Show off!" Saki grimaced as he did simple jumps to make his way over to her. He froze when he noticed the grey rat staring at them. He seemed to be smiling in approval, much to the two children's surprise.

"Hmm… about time you two showed up." Splinter smirked as the others turned towards the two children. "How is your friend?"

Saki was shocked, true he had been warned, but to actually hear a talking rat… the boy froze where he was. Diana grimaced as she realized what was wrong with the boy. "Jade's going to be fine. She needs rest… wish we could do more for her, but if we bring her to a hospital, she'll likely get taken by Hun. He was pretty steamed."

Master Splinter nodded as Diana nudged her other friend forward out of his shock. He quickly went to his mother, hoping to not be in trouble for befriending Diana now that they knew what she was.

"So it appeared. Saki, there is no need to be startled. These are the turtles that I told you about." Saki's eyes widened with shock and amazement. His best friend was related to _the_ turtles?

Saki bowed and apologized to the family. "My apologies, I was just startled."

Raphael rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Pft, sure. Where'd you two come from anyway?"

Diana glared at her uncle, a rarity to say the least. "Let's leave it as we went to our safe place, alright?"

Raphael just shrugged. "Whatever." Diana sighed in relief. It wasn't often that Raphael would back down from a question.

"Can I have permission to stay in my safe place until Jade is alright? I don't want her to be alone for long…" Diana asked in a whispered tone.

Master Splinter looked to Donatello, letting him know that it would be his decision. Donatello bit his bottom lip and thought about it. "Well… alright… You have been doing well with keeping up with everything… alright… but if you need help, don't hesitate to ask us."

"Thanks, daddy!" Diana smiled. She then ran to her room and got her medical kit from her normal room and returned to the main room. "Saki, you go home with your mother. I'll call you if something happens. Usual means of communication, got it?"

Saki showed his watch to signal he understood. "Don't forget to sleep, D. I don't want both of you down and out." Saki had invented a watch that each of them had on their wrists. His looked like a normal watch with the Foot clan's symbol in the center of its face. Jade's had a purple dragon that would turn into a jade colored one if you looked at it right. Diana's was small and had a turtle shell over it like a cover for the watch, which helped to keep it from being broken during training.

Diana nodded with a smirk, threw down one of her own versions of the ninja smoke bomb, and disappeared in a light violet cloud. Michelangelo was shocked. "I didn't even know she was that far in her training, what with all the time she spends in that so called 'Safe Place'."

Saki smirked. "Do you know where the safe place is?"

"No."

"Hehe, she practices moving without detection every time we go there, we all do." Saki grinned. "I think she's sorta been training us to be able to be silent like ninjas without meaning to."

Master Splinter smiled. "That does seem to be something that Diana would do. Though I must make a suggestion, young one…" Saki turned to the old rat in confusion. "When you walk along the pipes, do try to not wear such loud shoes. Diana's shoes are made of cloth, much like ninja shoes, so they leave less noise." Saki's eyes widened as he realized that they had not gone completely unnoticed on their way to their safe place.

"Oh Shell!" The turtles looked at the boy while Splinter chuckled. Diana was rubbing off on him.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ungh…" Jade's green eyes opened slowly as she felt the weight of her injuries and their bandages. "Wha… where am I?" The scent of jasmine filled her nose as she struggled to move.

"I'd give you a smack on the head for letting your injuries get this bad, but I'm afraid you'd probably pass out again if I did." Jade turned her head to see Diana rubbing a paste into her bruised arm. "This'll numb some of the pain, and help to speed up the process. Grandfather says that you'll be healed in a few weeks, should you actually stay and recover like a good girl." Diana grimaced as she patted her friend's head softly.

"Your grandfather?"

"Yeah, good ole Master Splinter. He apparently knew we were here the whole time, heh."

"And he didn't bug us?" Jade groaned as she sat herself up. "Your grandfather must really trust you if he lets you hang out with two of the most dangerous kids in the city in the middle of the sewers."

Diana smirked. "No, more like he trusted me to come to him if we needed help in here. We're actually not far from my home."

"Really?"

"Yeah… hehe. Gramps is really nice once you get to know him."

"Yeah?"

"Heh, I'll introduce you to him and the rest of my family once I'm sure you're fine. I don't want you fainting like Aunt April did when she first met them, hehe. I'm told it was something." Diana checked her friend over once more. "I'll get you something to eat. My father and uncles don't seem to know where this is, but grandfather does. . . oh, and don't be afraid if you find a talking rat and four talking turtles… that's… my family." Diana grimaced.

"Heh, and here I thought my father was crazy." Jade smiled weakly as she fell once more into the land of sleep.

When Jade woke once more, she found Diana sleeping in a chair nearby. She also noticed a plate of fruit on the nightstand next to her bed. She weakly grabbed at a grape that was off of the vine and chewed on it, glad that she could eat anything at all. She gasped a little when she saw a shadow appear in the doorway. The figure put a finger to its mouth and shushed her, indicating to the sleeping turtle girl nearby. Jade nodded weakly and bit her lip in fear. The shadowy figure sighed and then walked over to Diana, who was shaking in cold, as it was nearing the winter time. Diana tended to forget that though she was human, she was also part turtle. The figure placed a blanket on the child and then walked over to the human who was lying in her bed, injured.

"How are you feeling, child?" The voice was kind, and surprisingly gentle. Jade could now make out the rat like features of the shadow.

"I'm looking at a tall… rat? Are you Diana's grandfather, Master Splinter?"

The rat nodded with a smile. "Indeed. She has been quite worried about you, what with you having been asleep for a while."

Jade rubbed the back of her head and grimaced. "Sorry for the inconvenience. I'll… I'll just go…"

"Where would you go? Your father will likely harm you again, and the police have yet to catch him." Master Splinter pointed out calmly. He had been thinking about this for a while it seemed.

Jade sighed. "Yeah, but if I stay at the safe place…"

"That is one option, but should you return to the surface without a guardian, the police will likely take you to an orphanage where Hun will grab you again."

"Yeah…" Jade started crying. "What am I supposed to do?"

"For the moment, you must recover. You are not yet strong enough to go anywhere." Splinter said firmly, but kindly, much like Diana would when one of them was injured. It was surprisingly comforting to the young girl.

"Alright… thank you…" Jade nodded once as she fell back asleep. It was going to be a long recovery.


	16. Chapter 16

When Jade awoke once more, she found no one in the room. She slowly got up from her bed and made her way to the main room of the Safe Place. Again, she found no one. She looked at the clock that Saki had installed, along with a television, in the main room. It was almost the middle of their school day. "Oh… they're at school… I hope they're still okay after what happened…" She made her way out to the small pipe that the three of them used as a bridge to get to their safe place. She sat herself on the pipe like Diana often did. She never understood why Diana would do this, until she looked at the four creatures training in the large room down there. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw four turtles. She shook the confusion from her head as she remembered what Diana had said about her family. She then grimaced as she recalled what her own father had said about them. 'Why did Diana become my friend if she knew how dangerous it would be?' One of the turtles, the one in the red mask, seemed to notice her. She blushed as he looked at her, shrugged, and then went back to punching the large punching bag in front of him as though she wasn't there.

Jade didn't know what to think. He was obviously strong like her father, but unlike her father, he didn't randomly attack people if he saw them while training. She watched the others as they sparred with their weapons, the orange banded one was training with the purple banded one while a blue banded turtle was meditating. It was strange to think about considering that her father had tried to make these creatures the boogeymen of her nightmares. He had named them all and given horrifying descriptions of the four, as well as their master, Splinter. When Jade had met Master Splinter, she had felt a sense of calmness, not one of fear that she had expected. Looking at the four turtles that were training below her, she felt the same thing.

Hun had told her a few things about the mutants, trying to get her to see them as evil creatures. He had said that Michelangelo was the baby of the group, but not to underestimate him in a pinch. He was very dangerous and a master of disguise. He also said not to let his childish nature fool her, as he was as dangerous as his elder brothers.

Donatello was the brains of the group, but also the weapons expert. Though formidable in battle with his staff, Hun was certain that the brainiac turtle was the weakest link out of the whole group.

Raphael was a hot head and a near fearless warrior. The most ferocious in battle and independent of the group, Raphael would likely be able to take down a small army all on his own. Hun had told Jade that he had a heart of stone.

Leonardo was the leader of the group, but according to Hun, he was fierce and a formidable warrior. He would kill in an instant if you so much as looked at him wrong.

Jade shook her head. Those were her father's words. Diana had actually lived among them for years. She knew what they were really like. She thought back to how Diana had described her family for an assignment just last year.

 ** _"My family is different, but that's what makes us special. My grandfather himself was adopted by a Japanese couple. He then adopted my father and three uncles when he moved here. I never knew my mother, but my father is a genius. He builds things that help us. If one would look in our home, you would find touches of his work everywhere. Hehe, especially in his lab. He's really kind, smart, and nice. He teaches me a lot of things. Uncle Mikey is his younger brother. He's a practical joker, always trying to make people happy. He gets into a lot of fights with Uncle Raphie, but then again, everyone does, heh, 'cept maybe dad. Uncle Mikey's really something though. He's a good cook and he knows tons of things about super heroes! He even introduced me to Silver Sentry once!" Diana had even brought out a small Justice Force pin to prove it. "My Uncle Raph is the second oldest of my dad's brothers. He's a bit of a hothead but never doubt his loyalty. Uncle Raph would risk anything to save his family and friends. He's just that kind of guy. He's really tough too, so he can back up his promises when he says he'll protect someone. Some people think he's not one for hanging out with kids, but I know my uncle's got a soft spot for kids, cuz I've seen it. My family also has a soft spot for the homeless. Every Christmas, we invite some homeless friends over for dinner, and daddy likes to go and give them some spare clothes and blankets that we find. Uncle Leo's the leader of our little group though. He almost always has some sort of plan to get us out of trouble. He's really loyal and he teaches me all about Bushido, the way of honor."_**

Jade smirked as she remembered how happy Diana had been when talking about her family. She knew how to defend herself though, and by the looks of it, it was thanks to these turtles; her father and uncles. She looked down once again, now that her daydream was over, and was slightly worried when she only saw the red banded one staring at her again. The others were gone.

"Hey, you hungry?" Jade's eyes widened in surprise as the red banded one talked to her. "What? You dad didn't tell ya we could talk?" Jade winced. "Sorry, that was rude of me." The turtle started to climb up the pipes to where she was. "Need a hand getting down?" He offered her a three fingered hand to the girl. "It's okay, I won't hurt ya."

Jade tentively placed her hand in his and was surprised to find that it was similar to that of a human's, only green and less fingers. "I'm Jade…"

"I'm Raphael, one of Diana's uncles. Let's get you a sandwich or something. You look half starved." Raphael smiled as he gently placed the little girl on his shell and slowly made his way down. Jade felt oddly comforted by the fact that this turtle was being gentle with her, even though she had seen him beating up a punching bag fiercely with his bare fists just minutes ago. She didn't understand it, but she felt as safe as she did with Diana and Saki, like this turtle would protect her.

Raphael put her down gently as they reached the floor. He then led her to the kitchen where Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo were sitting. Michelangelo had made them all some pizza. Donatello smirked as he saw Jade and gave a small waive. Jade nervously waived back.

"You hungry?" The orange banded one asked as he pulled out another pizza from who knew where.

"Um… a little." Jade blushed.

Michelangelo chuckled. "Geez, you're just like Diana when she first met us. Don't worry, we don't bite, least we don't bite people. I'd love to bite some pizza though." Jade giggled. "Well, at least you know what a joke is. It took a week before she started laughing at mine."

"I still say she's doing it out of pity, Mikey." Raphael smirked as he grabbed a plate for himself and Jade. He handed her the plate and indicated to the pizza. "Think you're hungry enough for some pizza?"

Jade smiled. "What kind ya got?"

"Heh, Donnie's got Hawaiian, Leo's got veggie, Mikey's got cheese today, and I've got some meat lovers if ya want."

"I'll have the meat lovers if you don't mind." She blushed. Meat Lovers was her favorite pizza.

"No prob." Raphael grabbed the pizza box that held his favorite pizza, looked, and smirked. He had four slices to share. "Enough for two for each."

"Really?"

"Yep, let's eat."


	17. Chapter 17

After school was done, Diana and Saki rushed to the safe place, relieved to find the third member of their little crew was alright and coloring in a book that Raphael had gotten for her to color in. "Hey guys." She smiled. She still sounded weak, but she sounded and looked better than she had been.

"How ya feeling, Jade?" Saki was the first to reach her.

"I'll be fine… I need to figure out what I'm going to do after this…" Her eyes were filled with worry still.

Diana gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Jade. We'll figure this out. I promise." Jade let out a small sigh of relief. Diana had never broken her promise before. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Yeah, your uncle Raphael shared his pizza with me… apparently they did know about the walkway, they just don't know about this room… I think…"

"I should have guessed that. I mean, they've been living here for over ten years now maybe? I've only been here for five years… sorry guys…"

Saki chuckled. "Yeah, but your family trusts you more than ours do. I mean I have to tell my mom where I'm going all the time. I had to get my dad to vouch for me just to start coming here. She's more lenient about it now that she knows who your family is though… actually I think she started letting me go easier when I told her your last name. Does your family all have that name?"

"Naw, grandfather has Hamato Splinter for his name. My father and uncles took on the name 'Splinterson' a few years before they went back into hiding."

"Huh…" Saki grimaced. "That's interesting."

"Yeah, well…" Diana just shrugged. "It is how it is." Diana then thought about something. "I'll be back in a few. I need to discuss something with my family. Saki, make sure Jade doesn't swing off the chandelier."

"We don't have a chandelier." Saki pointed out lamely.

Diana grimaced. "I was trying to make a joke. I'm still learning." She then made her way out of the safe place and down to the Lair. She noticed Raphael was waiting for her down in the main area where they trained. "Oh! Uncle Raph, just the turtle I wanted to see."

"Really? What for?" The red banded turtle looked to his niece amused.

"I wanted to talk to you about Jade."

"Alright, but can you first come with me to the surface? I need to talk to someone."

"Okay, let me just tell the others."

"Alright."


	18. Chapter 18

Diana always liked surface time with her family, though it had been rare in the past, she hoped that it would soon become a normal thing in the future. She held her uncle's hand so as to keep a grip on reality as they made their way through the streets. Raphael kept his coat on, as did Diana, but she didn't wear her glasses anymore, as they were unnecessary. Raphael smiled as his niece walked with him in broad daylight down the street. He just wished that he wasn't so cautious as to keep his coat on. He didn't feel too bad about it though because Diana was doing the same thing.

They made their way up to the adoption offices where much to Diana's surprise, President Bishop was waiting. Raphael took off his hat while Diana tied her coat around her waist by the sleeves. "What are we doing here?"

"You didn't tell her?" Bishop smirked.

"I have a feeling I was gonna be asked to come up here by her anyway. So, what's the verdict?"

"The verdict is that I have to at least talk to the girls in question before any final decisions can be made, Raphael. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course." Raphael was keeping his calm in this situation and Diana was just confused. Raphael then looked to Diana. "I'm gonna go and get Jade so that Bishop can talk to her. You gonna behave and talk to the man?"

Diana smirked. "He tries anything funny, I have ten exits that I can use before his goon squad realizes I'm gone."

Raphael nodded in approval. "That a girl. I'll be back with Jade."

"Right…" Raphael left as he put his hat back on his head. Diana then turned her attention back to the president. "So now what?"

"Now, we talk." President Bishop said as he indicated to a chair for the young lady. "Let's start with Jade's condition; how is she?" Diana took off her coat and sat down, her shell showing and her plastron covered by a shirt.

"Stable, she'll be able to return to school in a few days if my hunch is correct." Diana was talking seriously, which was something she only did if the situation either called for it, or if she was talking to someone who she knew meant business and she didn't want them thinking she was a stupid kid. She did have standards after all. "Thank you for asking."

Bishop nodded. "Good, now out of anywhere and anyone you know, where do you think that the young lady should stay so that Hun wouldn't be able to get to her. That seems to be the biggest concern right now, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes. I'd say with me in the safe place but I can't take her in as I'm not old enough."

"What if I told you that one of your Uncles was wanting to adopt her?"

"Raphael?"

"Smart as usual, yes, Raphael would like to adopt her. It'll cause some ruckus with the media, but in the long run help with relations if we show that we can trust him enough with a child. Do you think he'd do fine with a little girl under his care?"

Diana placed a hand to her chin and thought about it. From a distance, Diana looked like a normal young girl wearing a shell shaped backpack, but a closer look would show the reptilian eyes that were cold and calculating at the moment instead of their fun like natural form. "Raphael is defensive, and protective of anyone in the family, even if he is a bit of a hothead. He'll be the first to put himself in danger to protect others if Leonardo doesn't beat him to the punch… Raphael's violence is controlled by his love of family, and while he does tend to have a short temper, he'd never hurt a child. He's never hurt me, and I'm supposedly more durable than any other child. He's never laid a hand against me. When I train with him and the others, they only make themselves just a little above my level so that I still struggle when I spar with them. He's a pretty nice guy when you get to know him, but you just need to be sure that he understands what you're doing if the situation is bad enough… yeah, he'd do fine with Jade." Diana smiled a large smile that allowed the top portion of her teeth to show, all human teeth too. Truly, the only way one could even know she was part turtle was because of the shell, the plastron, and her eyes.

Bishop nodded slowly, as though taking in the data and processing it. He knew what she had said to be true, but it was best that she say it herself for confirmation, after all, a child is sometimes more knowledgeable than an adult about how one acts.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Raphael and Jade entered as quietly as they could, Jade hiding herself under one of Diana's spare coats. Diana grimaced. "How ya feeling Jade?"

"Sorta confused on why I get to meet the president, but also sorta amazed…" She looked up at Raphael with a smile. "Can we pick up some food on our way home? Mind ya, I don't mind Mikey's cooking, but I can't just live on pizza, ya know?"

"Well at least we can agree on that one, heh. Sure, we'll pick up some stuff on the way home." Raphael grinned back. "Now how's about you and Bishop have a nice little chat, and remember that I'll be right here if ya need me."

"Thanks!" Jade had certainly warmed up to Diana's family in the couple of days that she had been hiding underground from her abusive father. 'I wish he was my daddy instead… he's way nicer…'

"Shall I wait with Raphael, Mr. President?" Bishop nodded once, and Diana grabbed her coat and walked towards a sitting area. Before leaving the room, she smirked back at Jade. "Don't forget to shout if ya need me. I won't hesitate ta break down a door if I need to."

Jade laughed. "Thanks, Diana. You're the best."


	19. Chapter 19

Within an hour the three were walking back to the lair in broad daylight. Diana and Jade could hardly believe what had happened. President Bishop had basically handed over some adoption papers for Raphael to adopt Jade! Jade had agreed, and now she was Diana's cousin! Someone from the adoption services would be waiting at an address that Raphael had given so that they could observe the home that Jade was supposed to now live in. It was an old abandoned house that was near a sewer entrance. The house itself was fixed up in case Diana had ever wanted to try living on the surface. It was simple enough, but also had a back door to one of the sewer tunnels. The lady would be there in two days to check to see if it would be suitable, along with Bishop. Though Raphael and the others were hesitant to let the old soldier into their home, they all knew it was the only way that they would be allowed to keep Jade safe and with them.

Jade was shocked, but with a happiness that she couldn't believe. She was free! Free to live her life the way she wanted to. Free to have fun, to be a child, to be safe. Diana looked at her friend's still shocked face and grimaced. Life would definitely be different for her friend, and hopefully better.


End file.
